


Weekend in the City

by such_heights



Category: Doctor Who
Genre: Family, Gen, Holidays
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-06
Updated: 2011-12-06
Packaged: 2017-10-27 00:41:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/289668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/such_heights/pseuds/such_heights
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They'd had the mysterious summons from River a week ago: <i>book four days off work, bring your passport, pack for sunshine. I've got a plan</i>.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Weekend in the City

They'd had the mysterious summons from River a week ago: _book four days off work, bring your passport, pack for sunshine. I've got a plan_.

Amy and Rory had spent days speculating about it - were they going to another time or another planet? And why would they need passports, they never had before. Maybe River didn't put as much trust in her psychic paper as some.

Amy woke up early on Friday morning, feeling excited before she even opened her eyes. Visits from River were always special occasions, and having a long weekend of adventure with her daughter sounded wonderful. River kept in touch a lot, letters and phone calls and postcards from impossible places, but they didn't see each other all that often.

She got up quietly, leaving Rory sound asleep, and went downstairs to make coffee. She resisted the urge to switch on her Blackberry and check her work emails - the company could manage without her for a few days. Her PA, Donna, who had been godsend since her first day, could run the show more or less indefinitely. Not that Amy had plans on being gone for long, not this time.

She packed up a last few things - pyjamas, toothpaste, an alien tech scanner they'd picked up a while ago be because frankly you never knew when that might come in handy, and drank her coffee while she waited for Rory to wake up and River to get here.

She wondered where they'd be going, and when. Hopefully there wouldn't be too much running involved - she doubted she had the same stamina now as she did when she was in the TARDIS.

The doorbell rang.

"Morning!" River said on the doorstep. She wasn't wearing her battle gear, so that was a good sign. In fact, she looked like she was actually dressed for a holiday, wearing a loose skirt and sandals.

Amy hugged her. "Going to tell me where we're going yet?"

"In a minute. Where's Rory?"

"Still asleep - go get him and I'll make more coffee."

River kissed her cheek and ran upstairs. Amy smiled after her - it was good seeing her like this, happy and relaxed rather than preoccupied with secrets and mysteries. Maybe they could get through the whole weekend without the mention of 'spoilers'.

Rory looked sleepy but pleased when he emerged, River squeezing his arm and ruffling his hair. Amy put out toast and cereal and fruit juice, and River laughed.

"Look at you, domestic goddess!"

"Just don't get used to it," said Amy. "But once in a while this makes a nice change from breakfast board meetings, I have to say."

"So," said Rory around a mouthful of toast, "where are we going?"

River grinned. "Well, as it's your anniversary coming up, I thought you might like to revisit an old haunt." She pulled out a packet and slid it over to Amy.

Amy opened it up, finding three plane tickets to Venice. She burst out laughing, delighted, and passed them over to Rory. "Venice? Modern day, Earth Venice?"

"Yes. Probably a bit different from how you remember, but I thought we could try a normal family holiday."

Rory squeezed River's hand. "Perfect."

"I mean, if we get bored I've got my vortex manipulator in my bag, we could go meet Joan of Arc or visit the Andromeda Nebula or anything you like. Not to mention if the plane's delayed. I'm not waiting around in an airport for hours."

\---

Venice was beautiful from above. There were certain advantages to more conventional transport, and their plane dipped over the water surrounding the city as it reflected the bright afternoon sun. Amy gazed out of the window happily.

"This was a great idea," she told River. "I feel relaxed already."

"Good! You work too hard, both of you."

"Yes, because you lead a very laid-back life yourself," said Amy, rolling her eyes.

River laughed. "I'm your daughter, I'm allowed to fuss over you."

Amy saw the strange look that got from the man in the next row and ignored him. "What's our strategy this weekend anyway?" she asked. "If people ask?"

"Let them think what they like, I don't care." River shrugged, and the seatbelt light pings on. "Here we go!"

Rory pulled out a bag of mints and offered them round. "I hate this bit."

"Yes, I remember, you were positively green when we went out to Corfu for Amy's eighteenth."

Rory groaned. "Oh, don't. You were a terrible influence that entire week."

"Always am!"

\---

The city was even more spectacular close up. The plane set down a little way out and they took a bus into the city itself, letting Amy take in all the sights. "It doesn't look that different, really. Take away the cars and it's just the same as it was centuries ago. I wonder if some of the buildings are still here."

"I'm sure they are," River said, consulting her guidebook.

"So long as there are no vampires this time, I'm happy," said Rory.

"Oh, well, I make no promises there," said River.

She took them to the Hotel Danieli, an old and beautiful building with gilded, ornate ceilings and lush red carpets everywhere. River went off to flirt with the concierge and neither Amy nor Rory asked where she found the money for this. Amy suspected she probably just didn't want to know.

"Wow," Rory said, staring around them. "This is _really_ posh, and I thought the place we went to in Paris for Fashion Week was nice."

"Yeah," Amy agreed.

"Oh, speaking of -- incoming."

Amy turned around and saw two women walking towards them, looking excited.

"Excuse me," said one of them, "I don't want to be a bother, but are you Amelia Pond?"

"I am, yes," said Amy, laughing a little. This had been happening for a while now and she still wasn't used to being recognised.

"Oh wow, we're huge fans. Your work is amazing, and it's so nice seeing a woman do so well in the industry, not to mention another Scot! Kelly here thinks you're the next Coco Chanel."

Amy's eyes widened. "I don't know about that, but thank you! That's really, really sweet. And actually, hang on a second." She rummaged around in her bag and pulled out a couple of miniature bottles of perfume. "Here, have a sampler. This is the perfume I'm going to bring out next year. It's called Crimson Delight."

"No way, we can have these? Are you sure?"

"Go for it - I have dozens of the things cluttering up the house, just ask my husband."

"It's true," said Rory. "Please, take them off our hands."

"Oh well, if you insist!" The women turned to each other, beaming. "Thank you so much! We'll let you get on now."

They hurried off, heads close together as they whispered to each other.

"Yeah, it's still weird," Amy decided. "Amazingly nice, but weird."

Rory slipped his hand into hers. "And entirely deserved too."

River wandered back. "Ah, more of your admirers, I see?"

"Your mother is a very popular woman," said Rory.

"Don't even start, either of you," said Amy, rolling her eyes.

\---

They got a late lunch and poured over guidebooks and tourist leaflets.

Amy wanted to go and see the glassmakers in Murano and visit some art galleries, while Rory and River both wanted to check out some of the museums, and were squabbling about their differing versions of history.

"Yes, dear," River said, "that’s very nice, but the Vikings invaded Venice in a version of history in an erased timeline, it doesn't count!"

"Okay, fine," said Rory, "but that doesn't mean that actually the Venetian city state was founded by sentient arm chairs."

"I am telling you, it happened! I was there! Come on, you and Amy saw vampire space fish when you were here, are other aliens really so implausible?"

"Aliens, no. Sentient arm chairs though, seriously? You're making it up."

"I solemnly swear I'm not," said River, laughing. "Listen, it's a great story -- I was out on a dig during my undergrad years when I managed to get into a spot of bother with a group of Thandulins. Lovely species, very flexible, but a bit touchy if they find you digging around on their planet, which is very inconsiderate if you ask me. So I have to make a run for it and somehow the ridiculous university-loaned teleport I've been using malfunctions and I manage to wind up in the kingdom of the soft furnishings. No, shut up, I'm serious! And I had no idea they were sentient, of course, so I sit down on a foot stool for a bit of breather only it turns out I've turned up just at the moment they are all about to board their spaceship and set off for a new world! The stool I'm on lurches up with me on it and starts making a beeline for this gigantic wardrobe that is somehow capable of interstellar flight and away we go!"

Amy was almost breathless with laughter by this point. "Wait, what? Why didn't you just get off?"

"Oh, how boring! Come on, I was about to go into space with a bunch of chairs, I had to see what was going to happen!"

"Fair enough," Amy said, conceding the point. "So what happened next?"

" _Well_ ," River said, leaning in with a glint in her eye, "that's when it gets interesting."

Amy listened in mingled amusement and wonder as River wove her tale of the real origins of Venice, which seemed to involve an awful lot of extremely ambitious upholstery, and the story took another half an hour to tell.

\---

They spent the rest of the afternoon wandering aimlessly through the streets and beside the waterways, peering over bridges and waving at the tourists on gondolas. Rory suggested ice cream, and as they ate they strolled over a bridge with shops lining both sides.

He linked his arms through Amy's and River's. "Got my girls," he said, with a laughing glance at Amy. She smiled back and leaned in close.

For all that they might appear to be ordinary tourists on the outside, they'd never be a normal family. That was fine by Amy - she'd never once wanted to be normal. But all three of them were together, and they were happy, which is all that she'd ever asked for. River had told her once that everything was going to be all right, and Amy was far more than just all right now. In this as in all other things, River had been absolutely right.

That didn't mean Amy had to believe her about the sentient armchairs, though.


End file.
